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Download (6MB) DEGEMINATION AND PROSODY IN LABRADOR INUTTUT: AN ACOUSTIC STUDY by Paul Pigott B.A., University of Western Ontario (1995) B.J., University of King' s College (1996) A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Linguistics Memorial University ofNewfoundland June 2013 St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador ABSTRACT In this thesis, I investigate the acoustic expression of Schneider's Law (SL), a consonant de gemination rule observed in three dialects of Inuktitut (Labrador Inuttut, Quebec Inuttitut, and Northwest Territories Siglitun), the characterization of which has so far been based largely on aural-impressionistic data transcriptions. Given the expression of this rule, which conditions alternations between syllables that end with consonants versus vowels, thereby affecting rhythmic qualities of the language, I set out to perform instrumental measurements of spontaneous and elicited speech recorded in Labrador, Canada. My observations of SL from various acoustic viewpoints confirm its characterization in the scientific literature as a virtually exceptionless rule, and one that is consistent with dissimilation processes found in other languages - in particular, length contrasts attested in Latin, Japanese and Finnish. SL is further shown to operate independently from any system of recurring metrical stress. Labrador Inuttut itself seems to be devoid of any type of metrical conditioning in any of the standardly-assumed phonetic correlates of stress (intensity, duration or pitch). The acoustic results do, however, show a systematic pattern of phrase-final syllable lengthening, optionally co­ varying with FO boundary tones. The observed phenomena are consistent with descriptions of related dialects, except that the rule in Labrador Inuttut is shown to also include aspiration of phrase-final stop consonants, something not mentioned in the Eskimo-Aleut literature, but described in other languages (e.g., right-edge fortition in Blackfoot). Master of Arts Thesis DEGEMINATION AND PROSODY IN LABRADOR INUTTUT: AN ACOUSTIC STUDY Presented by Paul Pigott, B.A., B.J. Supervisor______ _____ _ Dr. Douglas Wharrarn Supervisor______ ______ Dr. Yvan Rose Memorial University ofNewfoundland 201 2 11 Acknowledgements Nakummik to thank. v. Nakumminiakkat. Make sure you thank her/him. NakutlakKutit. Thank you very much. The above is a lexical entry in UKauset katitsutauppaliningit (literally, 'a collection of words') compiled in 1976 from a weekend gathering oflnuit Elders in Nain, Labrador on Canada's northeast coast. It is the single most important text in the writing of this thesis and sparked my interest in the dialect of Inuktitut spoken in Labrador. A tattered copy became my virtual appendage from 1999 when my family decided to exclusively speak in Inuktitut to our newborn daughter Anika Eta Nochasak-Pigott. The simple format, 3,000 lexical entries with definitions, examples and miniature hand-drawn illustrations, was a superb introduction to the frighteningly difficult written appearance of this polysynthetic language. The genius of the 'word collection' is the defined examples, extracted and edited by Rose Jeddore (Pamak) from the spontaneous speech of Inuit Elders who got together to talk about their language. My first thanks is to them, nakutlakKutit. The next thanks goes to my best supporters and academic supervisors Dr. Doug Wharram and Dr. Yvan Rose. Without their knowledge and steadfast encouragement this important research could not have been realized. Thanks as well to Dr. Carrie Dyck for daring me to "crack Schneider's Law," to Dr. Paul De Decker for advice on phonetics, to Dr. Phil Branigan for taking me up the faraway tree of syntax, to Dr. Julie Brittain for her elegant insights into morphology and to Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie for all manner of support, both academic and personal. To the patient wisdom of Ruby Bishop in particular, and all the staff and students in the Linguistics Department at Memorial in general, I am forever indebted. Thanks specifically to Linguistics students Karen Hunter, Kelly Burkinshaw and Victoria Allen for their transcription work. Thanks as well to Derek Norman at Memorial's Media Centre for use of professional recording equipment, Dr. Yvan Rose at Memorial's Speech Sciences and Language Acquisition Laboratory for use of the studio, and to the OKalaKatiget Society, the Inuttut broadcaster in Nain, for loans oftheir studio space, video equipment and reporter Josh Pamak. Thanks go also the ISER Foundation, Arctic Studies Center at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., Vale INCO, Nalcor, and Air Labrador for in-kind support and funding. Nakummesuak, a huge thanks, to the Inuit of Labrador, the participants, translators and helpers with my field research, in alphabetical order: William Anderson lll III, Joe Atsatata, Joan Dicker, Augusta Erving, Amos Fox, Doris Flowers, Edward Flowers, Bertha Holeiter, Boas Kaitok, Maria Harris, Julius Ikkusik, Lucas lttulak, Sara Ittulak, Veruna Ittulak, Markus Kojak, Boas Jararuse, Paul Jararuse, Christine Nochasak, David Nochasak, Levi Nochasak, Phillip Abel, Phyllis Maggo, Jacko Merkuratsuk, Minnie Merkuratsuk, Hubert Paliser, Derek Pottle, Eddie Pottle, Andrew Piercey, Martin Jararuse, Kitora Tuglavina, Mary White, Brian Williams, Fran Williams, Henry Winters, Abia Zarpa and three language consultants who asked to remain anonymous. Finally thanks to my wife Helen Toozer. Without her love and support none of the following would be possible. Diolch, i fy nghariad. IV Table of Contents Abstract. ..................... .. .. ............ ..................................................................... ...................... i Acknowledgements .............................. .. .. ............................. .. ............................. ........ ... ... .iii List of Figures ............. ................................ ....... ................................. ... ................ ............. ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Preliminaries ............................................................. ...................................... ...... I 1.2 Thesis objectives ........................... ........ .. .................... ......... ........ ... ...................... 2 1.3 The Eskimo-Aleut language family ....... ...... ... ...................................................... 2 1.3 .1 Background literature on the phonology of Labrador Inuttut.. ... ............ .4 1.3 .2 Thesis roadmap ............. .......... ................ ............................ ........ ............. 6 1.4 Theoretical framework ................................. ........... .... ........................ ................. 7 1.4.1 Autosegmental phonology ...................................... ................................. 9 1.4.2 CV tier: Representing duration ................................................................ 9 Chapter 2: Phonological Sketch of Labrador Inuttut 2.1 Accounts of the phonemic inventory and phonological processes ..................... 12 2.2 Schneider's Law: A basic description .. .. .. .. .. .... ........ ........ ......... .. ......... ............... IS 2.3 Preliminary results ...... .... .. .......................... .... .................................................... 20 2.3 .1 SL is exceptionless ............................. ..... ............................................... 21 2.3.2 Syllable prominence is not based on loudness, or loudness and duration.... ...... ................................... ............................... 22 2.3.3 Syllable prominence is not based on duration alone .............................. 25 2.3 .4 Syllable prominence is not based on pitch .......... ..... .. ................ .. .. ........ 26 2.3.5 Syllable prominence is not based on articulatory quality ........... ..... .. ... 26 2.3.6 Syllable prominence is not based on pitch and duration ........ ................ 27 2.4 Summary... ... ............... ......... ..... ... ....................... ............ .................................... 27 v Chapter 3: Background Literature on Schneider's Law, "stress" and pitch 3.1 Introduction .................................................................. .................... .................. 28 3.2 SL descriptions ................ ......................... ............................... ........................... 28 3.2.1 SL in Quebec Inuttitut.. .. ..... ...................... ............................................. 29 3.2.2 SL in the Inuit languages ........................................................................ 35 3.2.3 SL in Labrador Inuttut.. ...................... .................................................... 37 3.2.4 Deleting versus adjoining affixes in Labrador Inuttut. .......................... 39 3.3 SL analyses ......... .................................................................. ........ ...................... 41 3.3 .1 SL is not "geminate tension" in Quebec Inuttitut ................................. .41 3.3 .2 SL is not a metrical phenomenon ........ ............................ .... .......... .. ...... .44 3.4 Accounts of"stress" ......................................................................... .................. 53 3 .4.1 Early accounts of "stress" in West Greenlandic ..................................... 54 3.4.2 A recent account of "stress" in West Greenlandic .................................. 58 3.5 Accounts of pitch
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